Saudi Arabia: Circumstances under which the government revokes citizenship, including effect on children and spouses; possibility of reobtaining citizenship (2014-September 2016)
1. Legislation
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a lawyer at the Jeddah based Law Firm of Hassan Mahassni who specializes in commercial litigation, including international transactions, stated that the Saudi Arabian Citizenship System is the current legislation regulating citizenship in Saudi Arabia (Lawyer 25 Oct. 2016). According to the same source, the provisions of the Saudi Arabian Citizenship System concerning revocation of citizenship are currently applied (ibid.). The Saudi Arabian Citizenship System and its Executive Regulationare attached to this Response (Attachment 1). The lawyer further indicated that the following Articles of the Saudi Arabian Citizenship System were modified:
- 22, by Royal Decree No. (m/4) of 1969;
- 9, 12, 14, 17, 21, 26, and 27, by Royal Decree No. (m/54) of 2004; and
- 16, by Royal Decree No. (m/16) of 2007 (Lawyer 25 Oct. 2016).
Without providing further details, the lawyer indicated that Articles 7 and 21/6 of the Executive Regulation were also amended (ibid.). In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the lawyer further stated that, to her knowledge, no official English translation of the amended legislation is available (ibid. 27 Oct. 2016). Corroborating information on the amendments to these articles could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. An English translation of the amended articles as provided by the lawyer is attached to this Response (Attachment 2).
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a legal consultant at a law firm based in Riyadh, who holds a doctoral degree in private international law and practices in Islamic Sharia law matters, as well as government and private contracts, indicated that the Saudi Citizenship System was established by the Royal Order No. 5604/20/8 in 1954 and amended according to the Royal Decree No. M/4 in 2004 (Legal consultant 25 Oct. 2016). According to the same source, the law's implementing rules were established by a resolution issued by the Minister of Interior in 2005 (ibid.).
2. Revocation of Saudi Citizenship
According to the lawyer, "revocation and withdrawing of the Saudi Citizenship are [extremely] rare" (25 Oct. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
The legal consultant indicated that
[r]esolutions related to deprivation of the Saudi citizenship … are normally issued by the competent executive authority without any intervention on the part of the judicial authority. (25 Oct. 2016)
Additional and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
2.1 Consequences for the Spouse and the Children
The lawyer provided the information in the following paragraph.
The "individuals under his sponsorship" referred to in Article 23 of the Saudi Citizenship System are the individual's wife and children under the age of 18. Children 18 years of age or older are not subject to Article 23. No definition of the "good behaviour" mentioned in Article 23 is provided by Saudi law, but it can mean, for example, that the children did not take part in the scheme to fraudulently obtain Saudi citizenship (Lawyer 27 Oct. 2016). Proving the occurrence of "good behaviour" is "subject to the discretionary powers of the authorities" (ibid. 25 Oct. 2016). Corroborating information on the information provided by the lawyer could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
3. Regaining Saudi Citizenship
The legal consultant stated that,
[i]f a Saudi national abandons his citizenship as a result of acquiring a foreign citizenship, after he has obtained the required consent, the Council of Ministers shall be entitled to order the recovery of his Saudi citizenship pursuant to a well-reasoned application wherein he expresses his desire to recover his Saudi citizenship. (Legal consultant 25 Oct. 2016)
Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to the lawyer, Saudi law "does not postulate a situation whe[re] the decision of revocation/withdrawing the Saudi [c]itizenship is appealable before court" (Lawyer 25 Oct. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to the lawyer, "outcomes of citizenship application[s] by wives and children who had lost their [Saudi] citizenship because their sponsor (husband or father) lost it" are not published (ibid. 27 Oct. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Lawyer at the Law Firm of Hassan Mahassni, Jeddah. 27 October 2016. Telephone interview.
Lawyer at the Law Firm of Hassan Mahassni, Jeddah. 25 October 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Legal consultant, Riyadh. 25 October 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Saudi Arabia. 1954. Saudi Arabian Citizenship System. [Accessed 18 Oct. 2016]
Saudi Arabia. 1954 (amended). Saudi Arabian Citizenship System. Translation of amended Articles, and provided to the Research Directorate by the lawyer.
United States (US). 13 April 2016. Department of State. "Saudi Arabia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015. [Accessed 18 Oct. 2016]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia; three immigration lawyers in Jeddah; The Institute for Gulf Affairs; two international trade lawyers in Ryadh.
Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Arab News; ecoi.net; Factiva; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; Saudi Daily Record; Saudi Gazette; UN – Refworld; US – Department of State.
Attachments
- Saudi Arabia. 1954. Saudi Arabian Citizenship System. [Accessed 18 Oct. 2016]
- Saudi Arabia. 1954 (amended). Saudi Arabian Citizenship System. Translation of amended articles, and provided to the Research Directorate by the lawyer.